Sound recording or reproducing apparatus



Sept. 28, 1954 H. M. HARRISON ET AL 2,690,340

SOUND RECORDING OR REPRODUCING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 20, 1950 Patented Sept. 28, 1954 UNITED STATE@ PTENT OFFICE SOUND RECORDING OR REPRODUCING APPARATUS Application September 20, 1950, Serial No. 185,784

Claims priority, application Great Britain September 24, 1949 9 Claims.

This invention relates to magnetic sound recording or reproducing apparatus.

It has been proposed to provide apparatus comprising a recording unit for recording sounds same will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates in plan view a form of magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus magnetically on a disc of paper or the like coated according to the present invention. with magnetic material, and a reproducing unit Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional View on the for reproducing the sounds recorded in such a line X-X of part of the apparatus shown in disc, the apparatus being particularly useful for Figure 1. commercial purposes for recording speech, so Figure 3 is a detail view of part of YFigure 2. that the speech can be subsequently typed on lo Figure 4 is a section on the line XII-XII of reproduction thereof. Frequently a single unit Figure 2. is designed both for recording or reproducing. The apparatus illustrated in the drawings In one form of such apparatus each unit comcomprises a chassis or casing 93 which forms a prises a turntable for supporting the record disc, supporting base and on top of which is rotatably a tracking disc which can be placed on the turnl5 mounted a turntable S4 driven by an electric motable on top of the record disc thereon and so tor housed in the casing 93. A supporting strucas to Ibe in driven connection with the turntable, ture in the form of an arm d5 is pivoted about and a transducing head which by engagement a horizontal axis on lugs 96 attached to the caswith said tracking disc is caused when the turning so that lthe arm can be lowered to the turntable rotates to track radially with respect to the table or lifted therefrom, as desired. When record disc on the turntable, the tracking disc lowered, the arm extends diametrically across being separate from the turntable since it has the turntable as shown. The arm carries a to be taken olf each time the record disc is retracking member 91 of disc or plate form, a moved. tracking Wheel 98 and a transducing head 99.

The object of the present invention is to pro- The turntable 94 is covered by a sheet |00 of rubvide improvements in magnetic sound recording ber o1' other material having a high coefcient or reproducing apparatus, such for example as of friction. Part of the underside of the trackthat described in the preceding paragraph. ing disc is also covered by a material inl hav- Another object of the present invention is to ing similarly a high coefficient of friction. The provide magnetic sound recording or reproductracking disc is suspended from a spindle |02 ing apparatus comprising a base, a turntable for which is freely rotatable in a bush |53 on the supporting a record disc rotatably mounted on arm 95, and when the arm is lowered to the opsaid base, a tracking disc adapted to be placed erative position shown in Figures l and 2 the on said turntable on top of said record disc, a tracking disc is supported by the turntable, betransducing head, and means connected to said ing centered accurately thereon by a stud lil-i transducing head for engaging said tracking disc projecting from the turntable, the stud engaging to cause said head to be tracked relatively to the a corresponding aperture in the base of the spinturntable on rotation of said turntable and said dle HB2. If a record disc, such as the disc |23, tracking disc, and a single supporting arm pivis located on the turntable, it is pressed against otauy attached to said base, and having said the turntable by the tracking dise 9i. A comtransducing head and said tracking member pression spring IE5 yieldably presses the tracking mounted thereon. disc towards the turntable. A spiral groove lll, A further object of the present invention is running from the outer edge to the centre of the to provide magnetic sound recording or reprotracking disc is formed on its upper surface in ducing apparatus wherein a magnetic erasing known manner. device which spans the full efective width of the The treekilg Wheel 95 and tlarluelg heed turntable is mounted on the same supporting Si? are mounted on a carriage |01, as shown espestructure as a tracking disc, so that eiiicient Cially Il Figures 2 and 3- It S fitted With Wheels erasure of an entire record can be achieved by |08 which run in guidesl fitted inside the arm a single rotation of the turntable for carrying 95 so that the carriage can travel along the arm the record, whilst at the same time risk of inbetween the bush |03 and the pivot of the arm, advertent damage to the transducing head or the arm 95being generally of inverted U-shape erasure of the record is substantially minimized. in cross section, Only one of rthe guides |09 is In order that the said invention may be clearly visible in Figure 2. The tracking wheel 98 is understood and readily carriedl into, effect, the secured to -a shaft 98a. journalled in one arm 'of a yoke-shaped lever H fulcrumed on a shaft Hi which is mounted for limited longitudinal movement in slots I |2 formed in the sides of the carriage. The fulcrum of the lever can thus be displaced parallel to the direction of travel of the carriage and its position is controlled by a yoke I3 which links the shaft H to an eccentric H4 carried by a stud H5. The latter is journalled on the top of the carriage |01 and projects through a longitudinal slot H6 (Figure 1) on the top of the arm 95, a control knob I i1 being fitted to the projecting end of the stud I I5. The eccentric H4 engages a traverse slot in the yoke H3, so that by rotation of the knob |I1 the shaft Hi is displaced longitudinally in the slot H2. The other arm of the lever I9 is fitted with a handle IIS which projects through the top of the carriage and the slot H6. A suitable spring (not visible) is arranged to urge the tracking Wheel S3 downwards so as to cause it to engage the tracking disc when the arm 95 is in operative position, while by depressing the handle H8 the tracking wheel can be displaced out of engagement with the disc. IThe tracking wheel is formed with teeth of the same pitch as the spiral groove |33, so that one of the teeth can mesh with groove when the tracking wheel engages the tracking disc. The depression of the handle H8 is limited by shoulders I|9 on the handle.

The transducing head 99, may be of any suitable construction, such for example as that described in the co-pending patent application, Serial No. 130,274, led by Harrison, Driscoll and Payne on November 30, 1949. In that case the head 99 comprises a substantially rectangular magnetic core mounted with its plane transverse to the arm 95. The vertical limbs of the core have windings applied thereto in known manner, while the lower horizontal limb of the core is formed with a transverse non-magnetic gap. The head 99 is carried at one end of a lever |29 pivoted to the carriage at I2I, the other arm of the lever being formed with a lug |22. When the arm 95 is lowered as shown, the weight of the head normally causes the head to drop so that the under edge of the lower horizontal limb of the core rests on a record disc, such as indicated at |23, on the turntable, and in this position of the head the lug |22 just fails to engage the lever H9. However, if the lever is depressed by means of the handle I8, engagement with the lug |22 occurs, and the head is lifted sufliciently to move it from engagement with the record disc |23. Depression of the handle H8 thus lifts both the tracking wheel 98 and the transducing head 99 so that the carriage can then by further manipulation of the handle H8 be displaced as desired along the guides |09 independently of the tracking disc 91. The slot H6 is elongated to allow suiilcient travel of the carriage for the tracking wheel 98 to move from the outside edge to near the centre of the tracking disc 91, the separation between the tracking wheel and the transducing head being such that the transducing head then moves from the outer edge of the turntable to near the edge of the tracking disc. Moreover, it will now be apparent that manipulation of the knob H1 allows slight adjustment of the separation between the tracking wheel 98 and the transducing head 99 for purpose of correcting alignment of the head 99 on an existing record. The outermost position of the carriage |01 is limited by a suitable stop carried by the head.

A ratchet wheel |24 is secured to the shaft 98a of the tracking wheel 93. The ratchet wheel, whose teeth are of the same pitch as the teeth of the tracking wheel 98, co-operates with a pawl |25 secured to a bracket |23 which pivots on the shaft 98a. The bracket carries a bifurcated arm |21 which embraces the shaft Ii| and is springloaded (the spring not being shown in the interests of clearness) against a press stud |23 which slides on a slot in the handle HB. The arm |21 is so adjusted that by depressing the stud |23, the ratchet wheel and hence the tracking wheel is rotated one tooth in the clockwise direction as seen in Figure 2. Rotation in this direction causes a backward movement of the carriage, and hence of the transducing head 99 by the distance of one pitch of the spiral groove |96. A holding detent |29 prevents rotation of the tracking disc in the opposite direction.

At the outer end of the arm 35, a permanent magnet |33 is suspended by a hook |3| from one arm of a bell-crank lever |32. A coil spring |33 normally maintains the magnet in the elevated position shown in Figures 2 and 4 in full line, in which position the magnet has no significant effect on the magnetic material of the record disc |23. The free arm of the bell-crank lever projects through the top of the arm so that the lever can be manipulated and the magnet lowered. The magnet |33 extends radially over the full width of the part of the turntable 94 exposed by the tracking disc 9i. The magnet also .has an appreciable width and its magnetic axis is horizontal and in plane of the paper as seen in Figure ll. It is guided at the sides by studs i3d which are slidable in vertical slots |35 and |3t` formed in suitable guides. The slot |35 is limited so that when, by manipulating the lever |32, the magnet is lowered, the stud in the slot |35 is arrested causing the magnet to tilt as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 4, until the right hand edge |31 (the south pole) of the magnet rests on the record disc |23, the slot |35 being open at its lower end. The magnet is provided for the purpose of erasing existing recording from such record as may be on the turntable, and this being effected merely by lowering the magnet (as shown in Figure 4) and rotating the turntable once. By causing the axis of the magnet ISEE to become inclined as described (the edge |31 being arranged to be the forward edge) any existing magnetic signals in a record disc I 23 are erased by the flux near the end |31 of the magnet, which cause saturation of the magnetic material. Thereafter, as the turntable rotates to bring the raised end |33 over the part of the record which has been erased. the flux from the magnet becomes less intense and the saturation of the magnetic material of the record disc is reduced. It has been found that if the inclination of the magnetic axis of the magnet |38 is arranged to be about 30 to the horizontal the record disc is ultimately rendered almost neutral magnetically and the noise level in the subsequent recordings is substantially reduced.

A further hook |43 is carried at the forward end of the arm, and a bar IM is fitted on the top of the casing 93 in such a position that the hook MG automatically hooks under the bar when the arm 93 is lowered to the operative position, locking the arm at the correct height above the turntable. The bar USI thus functions as a rest on which the arm 93 is supported when the arm is lowered to its operative position. A press button |42 is provided for releasing the hook |43 when it is desired to raise the arm 95. Toggle mechanism, indicated generally at |43 is connected to the arm at its pivoted end to control the raising and lowering movements of the arm. The angle to which the arm can be raised is limited by the inclined edge |44, the angle being arranged to be just suicient (about 30) to enable a record to be easily placed on or removed from the turntable.

It is believed that the operation of the appaf ratus will be readily understood. The electrical circuits of the apparatus may be the same as described in the specification of the aforesaid co-pending patent application. A two position knob H55 is provided and by manipulating the knob to one or other of these positions, the apparatus can be conditioned for recording or reproduction as desired. When conditioned for recording, electrical signals representative of speech, applied to the apparatus by means of a suitable microphone, are amplified and fed to the windings applied to the core |53 of the transducing head. The electrical signals are thus translated into magnetic signals suitable for recording on the record disc |23 on rotation oi the turntable, in well known manner. When the apparatus is conditioned for reproduction, electrical signals picked up from an existing magnetic record on a disc |23 by the winding on the core irl are fed to an amplifier and then to a loudspeaker mounted in the casing 93. Numeral ifiii denotes a volume control knob which can be employed for volume control when the apparatus is conditioned for reproduction. A suitable time scale itil is marked on top of the arm 93 to co-operate with an index member |48 secured to the carriage lili, to indicate the amount of recording time remaining on a particular record disc during recording. During recording and reproduction back-spacing for re-hearing purposes can be e'ected by the press stud |15.. The apparatus shown is especially applicable to portable arrangements.

The guides 2&9 are secured to the arm 93 by strips it which are screwed to lateral bridge members l5@ inside the arm 93. Merely by releasing these screws it is possible to remove the guides idg and the carriage l'! from the underside of the arm 93 without difliculty. Reference numeral l5! denotes the master switch of the apparatus and numeral |52 denotes the brake lever and spaced regulator.

What we claim is:

i. Magnetic sound recording or reproducing apparatus comprising a casing, a turntable for supporting a magnetic record disc rotatably mounted on said casing, a supporting arm pivoted on said casing for angular displacement in a plane normal to the plane of a turntable, a tracking disc mounted for free rotation on said arm and having a spiral track, a fixed guide railway on said arm, a carriage having rollers on said railway whereby said carriage is mounted on said arm for displacement with respect to said tracking disc, an electro-magnetic transducing head carried by said carriage, and a detent on said carriage normally engaging said track on the tracking member, said arm being mounted on the casing for pivotation from one position in which said tracking disc is supported by said turntable coaxially therewith and with said head positioned to engage a record disc on said turntable, to another position in which said tracking disc and head are removed from said turntable to 6 permit a record disc to be placed on or removed from said turntable.

2. Magnetic sound recording or reproducing apparatus comprising a base structure, a turntable for supporting av magnetic record disk mounted on said base structure with the turntable rotatable about a vertical axis, a supporting arm, a stationary horizontal pivot for said arm on said base structure, a tracking` disc having a spiral track on an upper surface and having a lower surface adapted for frictional driving engagement with a record disc on said turntable, said tracking disc being mounted for free rotation on said arm about the axis of the tracking disc and said arm being displaceable about said horizontal pivot from a lowered position with said tracking disc supported in operative position by said turntable to an elevated position with said tracking disc above the turntable for placement of a record disc on said turntable, a magnetic transducing head guided on said arm for displacement relative to said arm, and follower means normally engaging the track on said tracking disc, said transducing head and said follower means being connected for concomitant displacement to cause said head to be tracked on rotation of said tracking disc,

3. Magnetic sound recording or reproducing apparatus comprising a base structure, a turntable for supporting a record disc rotatably mounted on said base structure, a supporting arm pivotally attached to said apparatus, a tracking member having a spiral track thereon rotatable on said arm, a carriage supported by said arm and guided for displacement thereon, a rst lever fulcrummed on said carriage, an electromagnetic transducing head attached to one end of said lever, a second lever fulcrumed on said carriage, follower means attached to one end of said second lever normally engaging said track, said arm being pivotal from one position with said tracking member supported by said turntable for rotation therewith and with said head depending to engage a record disc on said turntable to another position with the tracking member and head removed from the turntable, and manually actuatable means for simultaneously depressing the other ends of said levers to lift said head and to disengage said follower' means from said track.

4. Sound recording or reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, comprising manually actuatable means on said carriage for displacing one lever fulcrum with respect to the other to adjust the spacing of said head from said follower member.

5. Magnetic sound recording or reproducing apparatus'comprising a base structure, a turntable for supporting a record disc rotatably mounted on said base structure, a supporting arm, a tracking disc having a spiral track thereon and mounted on said arm for free rotation about the axis of said tracking disc and for limited movement with respect to said arm along said axis, said arm being pivoted to said base structure for pivotation in a plane normal to the plane of said turntable to move the tracking disc from an operative position supported by said turntable and coaxial therewith to an inoperative position above said turntable, a rest mounted on said base for supporting said arm over the turntable in the operative position of said tracking disc, resilient means on said arm for pressing said tracking disc in the direction of its axis to produce frictional coupling with said turntable in the operative position of said tracking disc, a carriage guided for displacement on said arm, a nrst lever fulcrumed on said carriage, an electro-magnetic transducing head attached to one end of said lever, a second lever fulcrumed on said carriage, follower means attached to one end of said second lever and normally engaging said track, a manually actuatable means for simultaneously depressing the other ends of said levers to lift said head and disengage said follower means from said track, whereby said carriage can be displaced independently of said tracking member.

6. Magnetic sound recording or reproducing apparatus comprising a base structure, a turntable for supporting a magnetic record disc mounted on said base structure with the turntable rotatable about a vertical axis, a supporting arm, a stationary horizontal pivot for said arm on said base structure, a tracking disc having a spiral track on an upper surface, mounted for free rotation on said arm about the axis oi the tracking disc, said arm being displaceable about said horizontal pivot from a lowered position with said tracking disc supported in operative position by said turntable for rotation coaxially therewith to an elevated position with said tracking disc above the turntable for placement o a record disc on said turntable, a magnetic transducing head guided on said arm for displacement relative to said arm, and follower means normally engaging the track on said tracking disc, said transducing head and said follower means being connected for concomitant displacement to cause said head to be tracked on rotation of said tracking disc.

7. Magnetic sound recording or reproducing apparatus comprising a base structure, a turntable rotatably mounted on said structure for supporting a magnetic record disc, a supporting arm pivotally mounted on said base structure, a tracking disc of smaller' diameter than said turntable mounted for free rotation on said arm, said tracking disc having a spiral track formed on an upper surface, said arm being pivotal from one position projecting over the turntable at least to the center thereof with said tracking disc supported by said turntable for rotation coaXially therewith to another position with the tracking disc removed from the turntable, an electromagnetic transducing head guided on said arm for displacement relative to said arm, means for engaging said spiral track and connected to said head for displacing said head in response to rotation of said tracking disc, a magnetic erasing device carried by said arm spaced from said head and dimensioned to span the eiective Width of the turntable from the edge of the tracking disc (in said first position of said arm) to the edge of said turntable, and means for rendering said erasing device selectively operative and inoperative.

8. Magnetic sound recording or reproducing apparatus comprising a base structure, a turntable rotatably mounted on said base structure for supporting a magnetic record disc, a supporting arm pivotally mounted on said base structure, a

tracking disc of smaller diameter than said turntable mounted for free rotation on said arm, said tracking disc having a spiral track formed on an upper surface, said arm being pivotal from one position projecting over the turntable at least to the center thereof with said tracking disc supported by said turntable for rotation coaxially therewith to another position with the tracking disc removed from the turntable, an electromagnetic transducing head guided for displacement over the eiective width of the turntable from the edge of the tracking disc (in said first position of said arm) to the edge of the turntable, means for engaging said spiral track and connected to said head for displacing said head in response to rotation of said tracking disc, a magnetic erasing device carried by said arm and dimensioned to span said efiective width of the turntable, and means for rendering said erasing device selectively operative and inoperative.

9. Magnetic sound recording or reproducing apparatus comprising a base structure, a turntable for supporting a magnetic record disc mounted en said base structure with the turntable rotatable about a vertical axis, a supporting arm, a stationary horizontal pivot for said arm on said base structure, a tracking disc of smaller diameter than said turntable and having a spiral track on an upper surface, said tracking disc being mounted for free rotation about the axis of the tracking disc, said arm being displaceable about said horizontal pivot from a lowered position with said tracking disc supported on said turntable for rotation coaxially therewith to an elevated position with said tracking disc above said turntable for placement of a record disc on said turntable and said arm being of a length to extend in the lowered position Wholly across said turntable, a transducing head guided on said arm at one side of said tracking disc for displacement relative to said arm, follower means normally engaging the track of said tracking disc and connected to said head to cause said head to be racked on rotation of said tracking disc, a magnetic erasing device carried by said arm at the other side of said tracking disc from said head, said erasing device being dimensioned to span the effective `ridth of the turntable from the edge of the tracking disc (in the lowered position of said arm) to the edge of said turntable, and means for rendering said erasing device selectively operative and inoperative.

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